ALEXANDRIA,
Virginia – July 11, 2013 – AHS International, the world’s premier professional
vertical flight technical society, congratulates AeroVelo, Inc. for winning its
Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition for the first time since
the Society established it 33 years ago.

A
panel of vertical flight technical experts – the AHS International Human
Powered Helicopter Competition Committee – thoroughly reviewed the design and
flight testing of Toronto, Ontario-based AeroVelo’s Atlas human powered
helicopter, as well as data from its June 13, 2013 flight. Based on that
review, the committee has verified that the Atlas flight met all of the
requirements to win the competition and its US$250,000 prize. AeroVelo’s Dr.
Todd Reichert piloted and pedaled the Atlas on that flight inside The Soccer
Centre in Vaughan, Ontario.

The
requirements to win the AHS Sikorsky prize were for an aircraft using only
human power to fly for at least 60 seconds, reach an altitude of at least 3
meters (9.8 feet) and remain hovering over a 10 by 10 meter (32.8 by 32.8 foot)
area. The full competition regulations, as well as past news updates, videos
and other information, are available on the AHS International website, www.vtol.org/hph.

“The
AHS Sikorsky Prize challenged the technical community to harness teamwork, technical
skills and cutting edge technologies to meet requirements that were on the
ragged edge of feasibility,” said AHS International Executive Director Mike Hirschberg.
“It took AeroVelo’s fresh ideas, daring engineering approach and relentless
pursuit of innovation – coupled with more than three decades of advances in
structures, composites, computer-aided design and aeromechanical theory – to succeed
in achieving what many in vertical flight considered impossible. We
congratulate the Atlas team on its incredible success.”

The
American Helicopter Society (AHS), as the Society was then known, established the
competition in 1980, and named it for one of its most important founding
members, Igor I. Sikorsky. AHS originally offered a US$10,000 prize, which was soon
raised to US$25,000. In 2009, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. – which Igor I. Sikorsky
founded in 1923 – increased the prize to US$250,000 to better spur vertical
flight innovation.

The
competition was specifically designed to energize students and other
innovators, by providing a hands-on, galvanizing experience for the next
generations of vertical flight engineers, scientists and other specialists. The
international competition has attracted teams from Canada (including schools in
Montreal and Vancouver), Japan, the U.S., and around the world.

“The
scientific breakthroughs, engineering innovations and inspiring accomplishments
that have been engendered by the AHS Sikorsky Prize are a testament to the ability
of the human spirit to tackle seemingly impossible challenges,” said
Hirschberg.

The
Atlas is larger than any operational helicopter ever constructed, based on its
overall width of 58 meters (190 feet), though it weighs only 52 kilograms (115 pounds).
It has four 20.4 meter (67 foot) diameter rotors that are powered by the pilot pedaling
a Cervelo carbon-fiber bicycle. The Atlas project was begun in January 2012 and
made its first flight in August 2012.

AeroVelo
is one of three teams recently flying as part of the AHS competition. The
others are the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland with its Gamera
II helicopter and California Polytechnic State University in
San Luis Obispo, California with its Upturn II aircraft.

AHS
International is also pleased to announce that AeroVelo’s win is not the end,
but the beginning. The AHS Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition
will soon be followed by another grand challenge, the details of which are
currently being refined.

About AHS
International

AHS
International, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is the world's premier
professional vertical flight technical society. The Society provides global
leadership for scientific, technical, educational and legislative initiatives
that advance the state of the art of vertical flight. On February 25, 2013, the
Society marked 70 years of bringing together industry, academia and governments
to tackle the toughest challenges in vertical flight. The Society was initiated
by Sikorsky Aircraft employees, including Igor I. Sikorsky, just weeks after
his company received the first American production helicopter contract.

AHS
International has more than 6,000 members in 37 countries, including the
world’s leading vertical flight manufacturers, suppliers and education and
research institutions. Among the Society’s members are engineers, scientists,
corporate executives, civilian and military program managers, pilots, safety
specialists, students and faculty, and leaders in research, development, manufacturing,
procurement and maintenance.

The American Helicopter Society
(AHS) International is the world's premier vertical flight technical society.
Since its inception in 1943, AHS has been a major force in the advancement of
vertical flight. The Society is the global resource for information on vertical
flight technology. It provides global leadership for scientific, technical,
educational and legislative initiatives that advance the state-of-the-art of
vertical flight.